MONDAY MUSINGS

January 14, 2008

Christian Unity

January 18-25 has been designated as The Week of Christian Unity for many years.  I can remember planning special services during that week that would include main line Protestants, Roman Catholics and some independent congregations, hoping to demonstrate, at least for one evening, our oneness in Jesus Christ.  There is not much energy to do that any more.  We have more or less hunkered down in our denominational ghettos, focused on preserving our individual outposts rather than testifying to some over-reaching unity.

I began my ministry amid the glow of a new emphasis on ecumenism.  The Consultation on Church Union, first proposed in 1961, sought to bring together the major main line Protestant denominations.  The United Church of Christ came into being in 1957, perhaps initiating a movement away from church splits.  The brave talk soon ran into stubborn resistance and a lack of will.  We still have some brave talk but little else to show for almost 50 years of effort.

I grieve over the meager progress we have made.  I believe the United Church of Christ had it right when we chose the motto, “That they may all be one,” from the prayer of Jesus in John 17:11.  The image we Christians project to people outside the church is a fractured collection of independent man-made institutions, more focused on internal matters than reflecting the sweeping ministry of Jesus Christ.  Are we any different from competing car dealerships, or social clubs, or fast-food chains?

Organic unity seems out of the question, but a more gracious and supportive spirit would go a long way.  Can we say a good word about the Lutherans, or the Baptists, or the Roman Catholic?  Can we genuinely say that we believe God is using them to carry out God’s will as much as God may be using us?  Do we affirm that the particularity of their traditions enriches the story of the Church of Jesus Christ as much as the particularity of the United Church of Christ and its honored antecedents? 

I am looking for more than tolerance, for that seems too thin, too weak.  I am seeking a genuine appreciation for all those in the Christian family, praying for their well being and success.  If we can get that right, then perhaps we can move on to praying for Jews and Muslims and Hindus and other religious groups.  Peace.  John Krueger